The instant invention relates to exercise apparatus and more particularly to a striding exerciser which simulates the natural exercise of walking.
Walking, jogging, and cross-country skiing have been found to be effective activities for exercising the body, and in particular, the legs, heart and lungs. However, these activities are primarily outdoor activities which can be severely limited by adverse weather and geographic conditions. The limitations of traditional outdoor exercise activities have in some respects been resolved by the development of indoor exercise devices which simulate particular exercise activities. In this regard, a wide variety of walking, striding and cross-country skiing devices have heretofore been known in the art. In this connection, the U.S. Patents to Dalebout U.S. Pat. No. 4,850,585; Hix U.S. Pat. No. 4,654,200; Bull et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,940,233; and Friedebach U.S. Pat. No. 4,804,178 are thought to be particularly relevant to the instant invention.
The patent to Friedebach discloses a cross-country skiing device comprising a pair of parallel horizontal rails and a pair of footplates which are movably supported on the rails. The Friedebach cross-country skiing device further includes a belt mechanism which causes the footplates to move in unison in opposite directions. Still further, the skiing device includes two independent hand levers which pivot back and forth to simulate the movement of cross-country ski poles. In use, the operator stands upon the footplates, and reciprocates the footplates back and forth while simultaneously pushing and pulling the hand levers. While the Friedebach cross-country skiing device is capable of providing a significant aerobic workout, it has been found that it also places a tremendous amount of stress on the operator's back and leg joints. The reciprocating movement of the feet along a horizontal path causes the operator's torso to move up and down, thereby forcing the operator to continuously lift his/her body weight with each stride. In addition, the up and down lifting motion of the torso increases the stress placed on the leg joints, particularly the hip and knee joints. Still further, the pushing and pulling of the hand levers forces the operator to bend over and reach from the waist which unnecessarily stresses the back muscles. Accordingly, it has been found that persons who have back, knee or hip problems often find it uncomfortable, painful, or even impossible to utilize ski-type exercise machines.
The patents to Dalebout, Hix and Bull et al disclose devices which are commonly referred to as striding-type exercisers. Striding-type exercisers typically comprise a pair of spaced vertical frame members, and a pair of swinging leg members which are pivotably mounted on the vertical frame members. In use, the operator stands on platforms which are mounted at the ends of the swinging leg members and reciprocates his/her legs back and forth in a swinging motion between the vertical frame members. The swinging movement of the legs in a striding-type exerciser provides substantially the same aerobic benefits as the Friedebach cross-country ski exerciser; however, the striding exerciser balances the user in a more stable position, reduces the up and down movement of the operator's torso and reduces strain on the back and leg joints. When a striding-type exerciser includes hand levers, the levers usually rotate about a point which does not require the operator to bend or reach during movement. While striding exercisers have been found to be highly effective in providing a low stress aerobic workout, they have several design problems which prevents their widespread marketability and use. Striding exercise devices generally require heavy duty frame members and heavy duty bearings to accommodate the weight of the operator on the pivot mechanisms. As a result, these machines are too bulky and too heavy for use within the home.
In addition, the heavy duty construction makes striding exercisers too costly to compete with other less expensive exercise devices. Accordingly, striding exercisers are usually only found in institutional rehabilitation centers and large scale exercise facilities that have substantial funds for purchasing and maintaining these machines. In addition, it has been found that the design of the prior art striding exercisers creates somewhat of a safety hazard in that the vertical frame members of the striding-type exerciser prevent mounting of the exerciser from a side position. The current striding exercisers are designed so that the operator must mount the machine from the rear. When the operator first steps onto one of the platforms, the platform tends to pivot forwardly, thereby throwing the operator off balance before being able to step up with the opposite foot. It can therefore be seen that operators who are not familiar with mounting the machine may be thrown off balance and fall to the floor while mounting the machine.
The instant invention provides a novel and inexpensive striding-type exerciser which overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art. Briefly, the instant striding exerciser comprises a base having a pair of elongated parallel tracks which curve upwardly in a continuous arc, a pair of footskates rotatably supported on the upwardly curved tracks for reciprocating movement thereon, and a pulley mechanism for moving the footskates in unison in opposite directions. The upward curvature of the tracks generally corresponds to the natural swinging arc of a human leg so that when the operator stands on the footskates, and reciprocates the footskates back and forth on the tracks, the operator's torso remains in a stationary and balanced position over the base.
Accordingly, it is an object of the instant invention to provide an exercise device which simulates the natural exercise of walking.
It is another object to provide an exercise device which aerobically conditions the user's cardiovascular system without the muscle and joint strain commonly associated with conventional exercise machines.
It is another object to provide a striding exerciser having a base with upwardly curved tracks that follow the natural swinging arc of the leg.
It is yet another object to provide a striding exerciser which maintains the user's torso in a stationary and balanced position over the track.
It is an even further object to provide a striding exerciser that is simple in design, easy to construct, and inexpensive to manufacture.
Other objects, features and advantages of the invention shall become apparent as the description thereof proceeds when considered in connection with the accompanying illustrative drawings.